USA: For its Artemis programme, NASA has chosen a Blue Origin-led aerospace team to develop the second lunar landing framework. The group consists of Honeybee Robotics, Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, and Astrobotic.

The contract has a staggering value of $3.4 billion. Blue Origin and its partners are eager to travel with NASA and have already begun their work.

The contract to transport NASA astronauts to the Moon has finally been awarded to Jeff Bezos and his rocket company, Blue Origin. For this lunar lander contract, the business and its partners bested the group headed by the defence company Dynetics.

Also Read: Lebanese army claims to have detained a senior Al Qaeda figure in Deir Ammar town

The victory might serve as a comeback for Blue Origin, which is vying with SpaceX to support long-term lunar exploration.

The Artemis V mission, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than September 2029, will use a landing system developed by the Blue Origin-led team. Astronauts will be returned to the Moon by the Artemis V mission to investigate the area near its south pole.

NASA had previously chosen SpaceX to create a Starship human landing system for the Moon in April 2021.

Also Read: US-Saudi mediators: Warring factions in Sudan have agreed to a temporary cease-fire

Blue Origin will build the 52-foot-tall Blue Moon lander and place it at the lunar south pole. When fully fueled, the Blue Moon lander will weigh more than 45,000kg. It will be made to fit inside the New Glenn rocket that the company is currently developing, which has a 23-foot-wide diameter. An unmanned mission will be launched a year before the crewed flight, according to the Blue Origin-led team.

Lockheed Martin will build a "cislunar transporter" spacecraft, according to a statement by Blue Origin, for lander refuelling. Draper will be working on training and simulation systems as well as guidance, navigation, and control systems in the interim.

Also Read: On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to confirm that Bakhmut had been lost to Russia

While Boeing will design the docking systems, Astrobotic will take care of the cargo accommodations. Finally, the cargo offloading capabilities will be handled by Honeybee Robotics.

The value of Blue Origin's contract with NASA is $3.4 billion. John Couluris, Blue Origin's vice president for lunar transportation, said the company plans to contribute "well north of that figure," so the project's overall cost might reach $7 billion. But this is only Step 1. Before we successfully land and return astronauts, there is still much work to be done, Couluris continued.